Dicerna rounds out $25M Series B financing

Dicerna Pharmaceuticals Inc. a Watertown-based RNA interference platform development company, has closed a $25 million Series B funding round led by new backer Domain Associates, based in New Jersey and California. Return investors Oxford Bioscience Partners, Skyline Ventures and Abingworth joined in the financing as well.

The funds will support the company’s oncology-focused program and its drug delivery systems. As part of the funding round, Domain Associates partner Brian Halak will join the Dicerna board of directors.

Dicerna’s drug delivery systems are built around the enzyme Dicer, which is used for gene silencing in generating drug candidates with greater potency and longer action duration than earlier RNAi approaches, according to Dicerna CEO James Jenson.